Wireless communication terminals are primarily used for obtaining access to wireless telephone services through a cellular telephone network. However, as the capabilities of wireless communication terminals increase, an additional level of user functionality is being included in the hardware and/or software of such terminals. For example, a communication terminal may be provided with a still and/or video camera, allowing pictures and/or videos to be taken by a user and transmitted from the mobile terminal to others. Likewise, many communication terminals include personal digital assistant (PDA) type applications suitable for tracking and managing schedules, tasks and the like. Many communication terminals also include messaging capability, such as electronic mail (e-mail), short message service (SMS) and multimedia message service (MMS) capabilities. Communication terminals may also be capable of connecting to the internet by using internet protocol (IP) over wireless and/or wired networks.
Communication terminals are also increasingly being provided with the capability of determining the physical location of the terminal. For example, many communication terminals include global positioning system (GPS) receivers that permit the terminals to determine their location with a high degree of precision. Other systems for determining the location of a communication terminal have been implemented, including systems that obtain location information from a cellular communications network, and systems that obtain location information through inertial guidance techniques.
In addition, some wireless networks have the ability to determine an approximate location of a terminal that is registered to the system. Such location information can be used, for example, to provide location information to emergency operators when a terminal is used to call for emergency help.